Let off Steam about unequal world

The skeletal remains of a steam locomotive is at the centre of an exciting new show coming to Barnsley this weekend.

In Steam, a group of performers who are all parkour urban acrobatics experts take a journey through the silent movies of Buster Keaton, the train hijackings of the Wild West, the rooftop stunts of James Bond, the heartbreak of the First World War and the dark future of inner-city commuting.

As part of the Yorkshire Festival, The Urban Playground combine dance and physical theatre with authentic French free running moves in a knockabout comedy for the whole family.

Working with local young people they have created a new local line scene inspired by Elsecar Heritage Railway to be performed as part of this unique event. presented in association with The Civic, Barnsley.

Steam will take place at Ironworks at Elsecar Heritage Railway Centre on Saturday and Sunday at 12.30pm and 2pm. Admission is free.

n The day after the EU referendum will be marked with a special showing of a documentary featuring Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband.

Ed will be joining film director Katherine Round for a question and answer session at the Doncaster première of documentary The Divide at Cast tomorrow night.

The film, which premièred at Sheffield Doc/Fest last year, exposes the effect of the ever-growing increase in inequality in the world. The Divide is inspired by the best-selling book The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

The Divide tells the story of seven people striving for a better life in the USA and UK, where the top 0.1 per cent owns as much wealth as the bottom 90 per cent.

Wall Street psychologist Alden wants to make it to the top 1 per cent, Glaswegian rapper Darren just wants to stay sober, Newcastle carer Rochelle wishes her job wasn’t looked down on so much and Jen in California doesn’t even talk to the neighbours in her upscale gated community – they’ve made it clear to her she isn’t “their kind”.

The film uncovers how virtually every aspect of our lives is controlled by one factor – the size of the gap between rich and poor.

In a world where the CEO of Walmart earns 1,000 times the average income of his sales assistants, this documentary urges the reader to take a stand against an economy which puts profit ahead of principles.

Director Katherine said: “The Divide is about seeing, and feeling, how very personal psychological levers are pulled in all of us by the dramatic shifts of income and wealth occurring under our noses.”

Tickets for the event tomorrow at 6.30pm at Cast are available on 01302 303959 or by visiting Cast in Doncaster